I bought some red lentils a long time ago and I kept looking at them and thinking what could I do with them. I found this interesting recipe here and I decided to try it yesterday. It was delicious, and the red lentils turn yellow after they are cooked!

We were invited to dinner at our friends Joe and Luiz, so I made a salad to take there. I put together romaine lettuce and English cucumber, topped with shredded carrots and sliced fennel. Then sprinkled with some black and white sesame seeds and dill. I made a dressing with goat cheese, vinegar, white wine and dill, but if you are in the Elimination Diet, stay with lime and olive oil. The dinner was delicious and fun!

Bean soup is a staple in Brazilian repertoire: because everybody eats beans in almost all meals, leftover beans are common, so the natural consequence is soup. We add pasta, such as elbow macaroni, or vegetables, such as watercress, to the soup. I am just topping the soup with some kale and parsnip chips, but you don’t want to add all of them as they get mushy very quickly. Just add a little to the soup for decoration purposes and serve the rest on the side.

Because Mahi-Mahi has a moderate fat content and a firm flesh, it grills very well and the fatty avocado salsa is a perfect complement to it. This dish is simple yet very delicious. I served the fish on a bed of red cabbage, fennel and sesame seeds.

This soup is similar to the “White Bean and Kale Soup”, however, the herbs I use are different, thus the flavors are not the same at all. I think I’ve got this recipe in a book by Bob Greene but I can’t find it now. His recipe was white bean and kale, not garbanzos, but you can use either. Fresh rosemary is very important because the soup doesn’t contain meat: that’s where the flavor comes from. Fresh oregano is optional but if you use it, a new flavor dimension is added. For a vegan version, substitute the chicken broth by vegetable broth. For those in the elimination diet, skip the Parmesan, sorry.

This soup is pure comfort: very nice in a winter day or if you think a cold is coming to get you. I added some peas and spinach for fiber and color. You can add any green vegetable. For the elimination diet, please skip the eggs.